Samuel Romero Castanon
Staff Writer
Taylor Swift has released a new album, “Red (Taylor’s Version)”, and fans can’t stop talking about it. The album first came out in 2012 as “Red”, and some might be confused about the difference between the two albums.
The reason for her re-release of the album is because Taylor’s master recordings were sold to the manager, Scooter Braun, without her consent. (Taylor’s Version) is her ongoing effort to regain financial and artistic control over her music, which she first started with Fearless.
The album contains the original 16 songs from the Red album and 14 more songs in the newer album. Although it has the same songs from the first recording, Taylor has grown since then and it’s shown in her re-recording and she’s even added more style.
So I’ll be listing my top 5 favorite songs from this album. Coincidentally these songs are all from (The Vault) so dont come after me please, I didn’t realize.
Starting at #5, I had, “The Very First Night (From The Vault)” mainly because of the sound of the music but also the catchy chorus. The breakdown was my favorite part of the whole song. Her voice sounded so calm and yet so energetic at the same time and the sound of the guitar in the background made the lyrics sound so much more powerful.
At #4 we have, “Message in a Bottle (From The Vault)” since the vocals were outstanding in this song. I especially loved how Taylor would hold out the note from the pre-chorus going into the chorus and how she would sing the last words in each stanza from the chorus.
My #3 was, “I Bet You Think About Me (feat. Chris Stapleton) (From The Vault)” because her voice was amazing as usual and the music added so much emotion, especially the harmonica in the beginning and at the end. The lyrics also caught my attention since it’s about her affluent lover and throughout most of the song she mocks him and I love how she sings the 1st verse. I just can’t decide which verse I liked the most.
At #2 is “Nothing New (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) (From The Vault)” because both of their voices sounded so good together, especially in the bridge when they were harmonizing. My favorite section was in the chorus, “How can a person know everything at eighteen, But nothing at twenty-two? And will you still want me when I’m nothing new?” This song has me searching for words I should know like novelty and words I’ve never heard about like ingénue but aside from that, the song is really earnest and heartfelt. It would’ve been #1 if it wasn’t for another song.
Finally, we have gotten down to my #1 song, although before I get into that, some honorable mentions are Treacherous, Forever Winter (From The Vault), Starlight, Ronin, and Sad Beautiful Tragic. These were the songs that didn’t make my top 5 but they sure put up a fight to be #5.
Now back to my #1 song. I know the suspense is killing you, so drumroll, please…. It’s none other than “All Too Well (10 minute version) (from the vault)” This song is everything– the vocals, the music, the lyrics, it’s marvelous. The song is genuinely emotional, all the way from the anger to the sadness in her voice just makes the song so much more passionate.
The Bridge, The Pre-Chorus, and the 3rd, 4th, and 6th verses were my absolute favorite parts either because of the lyrics or the way that Taylor sings a certain part. “And you call me up again just to break me like a promise, So casually cruel in the name of bein’ honest.” and, “And I was never good at tellin’ jokes, but the punch line goes ’I’ll get older, but your lovers stay my age’”, like where else would you get a song similar to this.
After listening to it, I could understand why it’s Taylor’s most played song from the album and why it even became No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 for a week. And for those who haven’t listened to her album, do it right now because I promise that it’s well worth the 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 26 seconds.
